Three people have been charged for their involvement in unlawfully disposing of a stillborn baby in Dubai.
The dead baby, born to a Filipina woman out of wedlock, was found in a rubbish bin in Al Baraha on June 23.
An investigation led police to arrest a Pakistani man, 28, who was believed to have dumped the baby on behalf of the mother and her friend.
During questioning, the man told police that the women approached him for help to get rid of the body. Police then arrested the two women.
The child’s mother, 35, told investigators the baby’s father could be one of two men, whom she had consensual sex with, but that she had not been able to contact either of them since finding out she was pregnant.
“When it was time for birth, I asked two women to help me during the delivery inside my room in Al Satwa area of Dubai,” she said.
On delivering a stillborn, she asked one of her friends to help her dispose of the baby's body.
According to court records, the other woman, also from the Philippines, 50, cleaned the body, placed it in a plastic bag before covering the baby with clothes and giving it to the Pakistani accused.
He put the bag inside a box fixed to his bicycle and took it to Al Baraha before throwing it in a bin. It is not clear who found the body and reported it to police.
In court on Thursday, the three defendants - the mother, her friend and the man - denied charges of hiding and unlawfully disposing of the baby's body and failing to report the crime to authorities.
"I had fainted after birth and I don't know what happened to the baby's body. I did not hide it nor did I throw it away," the mother told the court.
However, she admitted to a charge of having consensual sex out of wedlock.
She and her countrywoman were also charged with overstaying their visas, to which they admitted.
The next hearing is scheduled for December 5.